by Michael Maciel
Prayer relies on several things, but the two most important are knowing and acceptance.
Knowing means knowing precisely what you want. An example would be “a car in excellent mechanical condition,” not “a car.”
Acceptance means what you are really ready to receive. For instance, you might pray to win the lottery, but are you actually willing to accept the life changes that would precipitate from becoming suddenly wealthy?
What would it do to your family dynamics, your friendships, etc.? Most people who win the lottery, I have been told, go bankrupt. Many prayers go unanswered because of these kinds of unconscious concerns.
This is not as magical as it sounds. Everyone knows that it’s those who have a clear vision of what they want who are more likely to accomplish it. Realizing our potential rarely happens by accident. It takes focus and perseverance. Luck plays a part, too, but we tend to get luckier as we get better prepared.
And it’s also well-known that people tend to make as much money as they are willing to accept, often being stymied by unconscious restraints, such as not wanting to outdo their parents or not believing that they are worthy.
What makes prayer different from psychology is the metaphysical fact that there is only One Mind. This is the idea that everything is connected. Everything. And it’s all connected on the mental plane. The principal driver of prayer, psychologically speaking, is intention. One of the best examples of this is a boxer’s performance in the ring. As Sun Tzu said, “Battles are won before they are fought.” Focus, willpower, intention—put these together and you will be unstoppable, especially when your opponents are within you.
Science disallows the idea of the One Mind, but it still cannot explain consciousness. No scientist has yet been able to explain it—either its origins or where it resides in the brain. They cannot get their minds around the idea that it’s not there. At all.
Some cutting-edge physicists have been toying with the idea that consciousness is universal and fundamental to reality. If that’s true, then we can begin to grasp why efficacious prayer is real.
Everything that I have experienced says that it is.
The Mystical Christ 
Efficacious prayer, then, is the result of focus, willpower and intention?
Yes, but it really boils down to knowing what you want, which isn’t as easy as it sounds. Because it’s not only knowing what you want but also what you’re willing to accept. And there’s a lot more than your conscious thinking that plays into that. Knowing what you really want is the “truth” for you. You can’t change that, except by confronting it. Some people want things that they cannot admit, much less confront. Maybe it’s wanting to travel or pursue a dream, when to do so would require changes that they are unwilling to make. Getting at core desires is key to being able to pray for things of lesser importance. Because as long as there’s a deep conflict down there in the subconscious regions of your mind, nothing is going to work properly.
I have wanting to comment on your teachings for a long time. Today I am. I would like to thank you for sharing your wisdom and understanding in this forum. Your writing always speaks to my soul. I want to say how much the power of prayer and my understanding of our oneness with divine has shaped my life. Your writing on prayer confirmed everything I already believe. But, I had not contemplated acceptance. Thank you for this insight and helping me to go deeper into my understanding of the divine.
Peace and blessings always,
Lynn